Once Upon a Time
by bookworm553
Summary: A girl with a troubled past finds herself trapped in a never-ending dream of pain. Horrible memories pull at her mind. But are they real? It all start with Once Upon a Time...
1. Chapter 1

ONCE UPON A TIME…

It was clear to me that I was standing in one spot—so it must have been the room that was spinning. I was in the principal's office standing face to face with a woman who, with very few words, wanted to shake up my whole world.

Her cheerful smile lit up the room. Soon, her expression turned serious and, looking me straight in the eyes, she proclaimed with sincerity, "Penny, I think you need a sense of family."

My mind began racing as she continued, "I would like you to be a part of my family. I want to adopt you."

My first response to these shocking words was, to some extent, to feel irate.

_Family!_ I thought to myself, _I don't need a family. I have friends, I have the best friends ever._

I stood silently in the office, unaware of the people around me awaiting a response. A thousand-and-one thoughts raced through my head and I wanted to shout—I wanted to scream. But I couldn't get anything out. I was silent.

The mere idea of speaking may have exposed my vulnerability. I looked up and met her gentle eyes, only to quickly look away. I was so full of questions and fear, I could concentrate on very little. She spoke again, this time in a softer voice.

"I know it's a lot to think about," she began, "so I will leave it to you and whenever you're ready, just give me a call." And with that, she was gone.

I turned and ran out of the office as quickly as possible, my destination irrelevant. I ran through the halls, past my next class, not stopping for anything. As I ran, my mind was spinning—just as the office had been earlier.

_I can't get adopted_, I thought. _I can't move homes._

Plus, I concluded, _I have friends, right? I don't need a family: my friends are there for me. They care._

As I stopped running, I found myself in the middle of a nearby forest, surrounded by trees and wide open spaces. As I gazed around I noticed a nest in a nearby tree, holding two baby birds. I watched as the birds stretched out their necks, awaiting their mother's return.

This fascinating part of nature continued to play out as I looked on.

_When was the last time I needed someone?_ I thought to myself. Perhaps the better question was, _When was the last time someone needed me?_

With that final thought, my knee's buckled beneath me. I collapsed, and began to cry uncontrollably for countless reasons.

I curled my body like a small cat, and closed my eyes. The ground was damp, but that didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore—everything was going to change.

My name is Penthesilea Black. I go by my middle name, Kestrel. I've lived at Spence Academy [No, I did NOT take this from the Gemma Doyle books!!] since I was 6 years old. My mother died 10 years ago, when I came here, and my father is lost to the world.

Sometimes I dream about my father, even though I never met him. I imagine him on a bed of poppies. Silly, right?

And, no, Spence is not a orphanage. It is a boarding school that takes in children with no family on scholarship and provides food and board for them. Simple as that.

I am one of three orphans at Spence. The other two are Campbell and Carly Rodriguez.

During lunch, I told my best friend Cody about the woman who came for me, Sheila Meyers, and he turned white.

"You shouldn't go with her, Kes," he told me.

"I know…but I've never really had a family before. She's giving me a chance to, you know, have one."

"You can't just leave! Summer break starts in two days—you can come with me to my camp."

"Sure. Thanks, Codster."

Cody was a weird dude. He was an inch shorter than me and had a leg disorder that got him out of PE, but always managed to outrun me at lunchtime.

I don't know how he did academically, but I stink. I'm dyslexic and have ADHD. Dyslexic, ADHD, orphan, oh my!! Wow, that was really lame.

But you, whoever you are, should know something.

I, like many orphans, have had a very troubled past. My mom did not make much money at her job at the local diner. I grew up in a small town in Colorado, living above the diner my mom worked at. The owner, Reneé, sent me to Spence where her sister was principal.

Nothing had ever gone right for me. The best I can do is sleep it off and pretend my life is better than this.

_I'm waiting for my mom to come home from the bar. She spends most of her time there. My arms still stung and my eye ached from the last time. _

_I hear a car door slam. Boots pounding up the stairs. I flatten myself against the wall, hoping she won't see me. I'm scared. Tears race down my cheeks._

_I sniffle. She turns toward me. My mom curses and lifts me onto my feet. She hits me and says it's all my fault. Everything is my fault._

_She loosens her grip and I run for the door. It's locked. She grabs we and throws me against the door. I'm crying harder now._

"_I'm sorry!" I scream over and over._

_She slaps me again and I fall to the floor. I scream for her to please stop. She doesn't hear me. She hits me again, my bones start to crack._

_As she throws against the wall, I hear sirens. Within seconds, the police drag my mom out of the apartment. I lie there, waiting in pain. Screams fill my ears and I hear someone barking out orders. _

_A gunshot. _

_Someone lifts me off the floor. _

_The last thing I see is the picture of my brother on the nightstand. Then everything goes black. _

I wake up, drenched in sweat. There are reasons we call some dreams nightmares. If you must know, that just so happens to have been the night my mom died.

I broke my arm, got a black eye, and countless bruises. I was almost dead when the police came. There's something that haunted me about that dream.

It's all my fault. Everything is my fault.

I killed her.

"Kes! Kestrel! Penthesilea!"

"I'm coming, Cody! Hold your horses."

I ran out of the building, but instantly regretted it when I was hit with a cold, hard snowball.

I laughed and tried to throw a snowball, by my old canvas pack I used as a backpack slid down my arm. I winced. My arm hurt really bad.

"Ow." I muttered.

"What's up?" Cody asked, running over.

"My arm hurts. It's like I've been—" _like I've been thrown against a wall._

"What's up with your eye? It looks pretty hurt."

I touched my eye and gasped at the pain.

_No way_, I thought. _This isn't possible_.

"Kes?"

"Oh, yea. I—I fell of my bed in the middle of the night. W—we should be going."

"Ok…" he said, still unsure.

I put on a smile. "C'mon."

"So, this camp. It's for kids like me? Like, ADHD and Dyslexia."

"Yea. You'll see when you get there."

"See what? I might as well know now. You can't postpone the inevitable."

He stared to say something, but I couldn't hear. For some reason, my attention was captured by a guy in the front of Greyhound bus, sleeping.

And that's when I was pulled in.

I materialized next to the guy. He was on a rock in the middle of the sea. On one side of him was a woman (his wife) and a (his) kid. On the other was another woman, only younger and more slut-ish (the "other woman").

He was startled to see me, but he looked so sad.

"Are you my guardian angel? Are you here to help me decide?"

"Umm," I thought. "Yes. Yes I am."

"Well, what should I do?" He begged.

I know I should be like the real guardian angels from the movies and give him a complicated explanation that he will soon take to heart and chose what is right. But this isn't that kind of movie. It's the movie that will never be made where the angel tells him what to do.

"You're being a jackass," I started. "You have a _wife._ I think it's obvious you should dump Blondie over there and head home. Look at it this way, which one is move likely to love you if you go broke? Which one will willingly make you your favorite breakfast before work? Which one _do you love more_?"

He looked up at me again and smiled.

"Thanks. Thanks a lot."

I faded out of the dream.

"_Kes?_ KES?" Cody asked, shaking my shoulder.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, must have dozed off there. How long was I out?"

He looked at me curiously.

"Only a second. So do you really want to know?"

"No, I just asked to know to start up a conversation." I said sarcastically.

"Hey, driver. When's the next bus to Silver Springs?" A recognizable voice came from the front of the bus.

"'Bout an 'af hour, sir." The bus driver said.

The man from the dream turned around at me and winked. I smiled back.

"What was that?" Cody wondered.

"Just someone I know."

"So, tell me all about this camp."

By the time we arrived at camp, I knew _everything_. This camp, Camp Half-Blood, was a training ground for demigods. Demigods are children who have one parent who is a Greek god.

I had also learned that Cody was a satyr, a goat-boy hybrid, and that when he is really hungry, he can eat 3 tins cans. AT THE SAME TIME!!

"There's _tons_ of cool kids here. You'll have a friend in no time."

"And weird things happen to these kids, too?"

"Totally. If you want weird, you should meet Percy Jackson. He's as weird as you can get."

In half an hour, we were at a hill that hid the camp from view.

And in that moment, my entire life changed.

"You can go to the Hermes cabin, over there. That's where the undecided go. It's already past lights-out, so you should be heading over there. I called ahead, so they should have a bunk ready for you. See ya in the morning."

I muttered a quiet "see ya" and tip-toed into the Hermes cabin. Almost all the kids were still up.

"Humph," one guy muttered as I walked in. "Thought they already rounded up all the newbies. I'm Jasper."

"Kestrel," I whispered.

I quietly set up my bunk. For the first time on months, I had nothing to say. Usually I had an answer to a question or at least a snappy comeback. But now, nothing.

I decided the best thing to do was go to sleep.

I have a knack for sleep. I can sleep ANYWHERE. I bet I could fall asleep bungee jumping. Not that I would ever want to.

But tonight the dream came fast.

"_You're just a little witch," she spat at me. "Always thinking about yourself!"_

_She hit me._

"_All your fault!"_

_1. 2. 3. 4. 5._

"_You did this to me! I hate you!"_

_All my fault. Everything's my fault._

"_You killed me!"_

_Slap. Slap. Slap. Slap. Slap._

"_Just a little baby!"_

_Bye-bye._

I woke up, nearly screaming. My cheeks and arm throbbed.

I was gasping for air.

When it all passed, I looked out the window into the night. The moon was high.

But then I saw something. Something that will haunt me forever.

Glowing blue eyes. Her blue eyes.

_All your fault._


	2. Chapter 2

CODY

_From the minute is saw Kestrel when I first came to Spence Academy, I knew she was the half-blood I was looking for._

_Her black hair to her waist, pale, pale skin, and bright purple eyes gave it away easily._

_But today at breakfast she was not like she had even been before, yet I'd only known her a couple weeks._

_She was quiet. Almost invisible. She got her food. Scraped some into the fire. Sat down at the only unoccupied table. _

_One of the strangest things was, she was wearing a turtleneck even though it was summer._

_I went up to Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon. It took seconds for me to convince him and his girlfriend, Annabeth, to come and talk to her._

_Annabeth was all smiles._

"_Hi," she said to Kestrel. "I'm Annabeth Chase. This is Percy. You must be new."_

"_No, really?" Kes said sarcastically. "I didn't notice, Blondie."_

_That was more like it._

_Annabeth smiled, obviously on her last nerve._

"_What's your name?"_

"_Kestrel Black."_

"_Well, Kestrel Black I guess I underestimated you."_

"_Fab. Now I can die happy."_

_Kes turned to Percy._

"_So you're Percy Jackson. The fish-boy."_

"_And you're Kestrel Black. The annoying one."_

_She shrugged. "I'm not a big morning person. If the sun isn't up, I ain't up. I likes my sleep."_

_She took a long breath. "Can you guys leave. I have to talk to Cody. Alone."_

_Annabeth muttered, "Whatever. Let's go. I'm out of _blonde_ for the day."_

_After they left, it was silent for a while. Suddenly, Kestrel burst out, "I'm thinking about going with Mrs. Meyers."_

"What?!_" I stood up._

_Let's say, this wasn't my normal scream. It was more like and explosion. I'm talkin' Pearl Harbor material_._ Everybody turned around to stare. Even Mr. D, the camp director. _

_She put her hand on my trembling arm. I yanked it away._

"_You promised me you wouldn't go!" I yelled, prepared to win._

"_I didn't—promise anything," Kestrel whispered. "I don't have to promise you anything."_

_For the first time since I've known her, she actually looked small. Almost helpless. She winced, as if suspecting me to hit her. _

"_It's all my fault." Was all she said as she ran out of the Mess Hall._

"You don't control my life, Cody. You don't know what I've gone through. I've lived _six years_ with an abusive parent. I _watched my brother die_ when I was three. The only reason they haven't kicked me out of school is because I have _no place to go._ If my father even _is_ a God, why the hell hasn't he done anything?"

I was yelling at the top of my lungs.

"I've been teased about being Little Orphan Annie for 10 years and when someone tries to give me a better life, you just say _'NO'?! _Dammit, Cody, this is one time when I get to have a say in my life, NOT YOU."

And they say rock concerts deafen people. If I screamed _that_ into a microphone, the entire state of New York would go deaf.

We were neck-in-neck. I could feel his breath on my cheek. And you know what happened?

Up close, I noticed that Cody had really sweet brown eyes and that he was actually kind of…

Damn these female hormones. And it doesn't help that at that moment he chose to step _closer_.

"Kes, I just don't want you to get hurt. And I know full well you can handle hurt. And that you can dish it out. Believe me, I've warned everyone that when you say 'I know MMA' you aren't kidding. You also have a habit of making the wrong choices. But strength isn't just how well you hide the pain."

I put a finger on my arm and winced.

"Let me look at it," he order, his voice soft an friendly.

I could never fight with him. He would be a great lawyer. He can very easily win a discussion and can always (mostly, at least) keep his cool.

"You don't need to explain," he said. "I know how it happened and I know who you are. And tonight you are going to move in with your brothers and sisters in your new cabin."

There was silence.

"Cody? Who am I?" I asked quietly.

He stopped and looked into my eyes. "You're Penthesilea Black. Your father is Morpheus, God of Dreams. You have the power to enter other's dreams and you can make your dreams—and your nightmare's—come to life. And that's how you got so beat up.

"You also have a brain the size of Atlantis. You're a pretty tough chic, but you have a heart like putty. And, you're arm is firmly wrapped."

I looked at him. _Really _looked at him. And I saw how great a friend he was.

"The whole wrapping-my-arm-while-staring-into-my-eyes thing is cool. But there's one problem."

"What?" he asked.

"You wrapped it with _poison ivy_."

I had just come, but I was already leaving. I had decided once and for all to accept Ms. Meyers proposal, but I was still heading back to Spence for basketball camp. Spence always has sports camps during the summers.

You might (or not) want to know that Ms. Meyers ("mom") already has other kids. 3 girls: Angela (19), Juliet (16), and Emma (8), and 2 adopted boys: Jeremy (17) and Sam (11).

"Hey, chica! Kes!" Carly yelled from across the gym. She was one of by best friends, next to Cody. Her and her brother Campbell.

I slung my worn out Adidas bag over by shoulder and went over to greet her.

"Hey, Carly. Where's Cam?"

"In our dorm still."

(Spence has 7 dorms. Wellington, Burton, Pennington, Kennilworth, Hapsley, Porthaven, and Bardwell. We—the orphans—stayed in Porthaven.)

Someone put their hands over my eyes.

"Guess who?"

"Cam…" I said, feigning annoyance.

"So," he said, coming into view. I swung his arm over Carly's shoulder. "I hear you took Ms. Sheila up on her offer."

"Yeah."

He shrugged. "When life gives you lemons—shut up and eat your lemons, chica."

"What'cha listening to?"

Mason Jones took the Def Leppard CD out of my CD player.

"Ooh. An oldies fan." He joked.

Def Leppard was one of my favorite bands along with The Beatles, The Who, AC/DC, KISS, Blue Oyster Cult, Led Zepplin, Grateful Dead, and Aerosmith.

"Yeah," I replied, snatching back my CD. "I'm into classic rock. What about you?"

He sat own next to me at the lunch table.

"I'm more of a punk rock guy."

Mason was a cool guy. I had never really thought about him in any other way.

He was _ah-maze-ing_ at basketball.

But then, our innocent little conversation was ruined. Charlotte "Lottie" Carmichael came out of the lunch line.

She was the stereotypical high school wrecking ball. Head cheerleader (at cheer camp), blonde, fake nose. You get my drift.

And she would destroy anyone who got in the way of her prize: Mason.

Talking to him in front of her was social suicide. But since my mom had practically committed suicide, I was experienced.

It's not like I had a social status to lose. I was a tomboy loser freak who had no family or life.

But that's the problem. Mason _never_ talked to girls. No girl was really worried about it. I mean, like, until now.

The worst thing was that Lottie already hated my guts. I was so anti-cheerleader it wasn't even funny. Well, it kind of was.

Like when I spiked their Gatorade with Tabasco or hung their HUGE bras from the flagpole. Good times, good times.

But Lottie also hated me because a couple summer's ago, after 7th grade, after the biggest basketball game of the year against St. Raphael's Prep she saw Mason _kiss me on the lips_.

It was, of course, my first kiss. And my only kiss with Mason. Or ever. No, wait—(train of thought currently stuck at station)—never mind.

All I have to say is: She. Hates. My. Guts.

Translation: _not good_.

But she paid us no mind. Mason said something.

"Sorry, what?" I asked, startled out of my day-nightmare.

"I asked if you wanted to shoot some hoops."

"Uh…sure. Why not? 'M not hungry, anyway." I grabbed a water bottle and together we ran towards the gym.

"Hey, wait. I'm going to see if Cody wants to come," I said. "Meet you there."

I turned around just in time to see Lottie drape herself over him. And he was totally ok with it

I caught up to Mason.

"He's kinda preoccupied."

We shot some hoops and fooled around a bit. Like the old pals that we were. Soon enough, other basketball-ers came in and we started a shirts-vs-skins game.

When I passed the ball to Mason and he threw it in the basket, making our team win, I laughed and gave him a high-five, which turned into a hug.

I turned around and saw Cody staring in amazement. I answered him with an expressionless face.

"Gravity is seriously pulling me down, tipos." Carly huffed, flopping into a chair in the common room. She threw her pom-poms at the door.

"I don't believe in gravity." I said.

"You, uh, you no believe in gravity?"

"Well, it's not so much that, you know, like, I don't believe in it, it's just...I don't know, lately I get the feeling that I'm not so much being pulled down as I am being pushed." I stammered.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Uh-oh. It's Isaac Newton, and he's pissed." Cam joked.

_Weird_, I thought. _That door is always unlocked_.

"Come in?"

Nothing.

"Hello?"

I went over to the door and opened it.

Nobody there. I shivered despite the warm breeze. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw some movement.

I decided, against my better judgment, to follow it.

Maybe it was just Cody. Or Percy. Or Annabeth. Maybe it was one of my half-siblings, Katy, Simon, or little Ann.

I heard a crash of a breaking window, then a scream.

I watched as the little 4-year-old boy, my brother, crashed to the ground, the grass stained with blood.

I let out a awful yell.

Cam and Carly came running. I was on the ground, screaming "Izzy!", my brother's name. I turned my head toward them, tears streaming down my cheeks.

They looked confused. I turned back toward the body, but nothing was there.

No blood, no boy, nothing.

As if my mom had already come, stuffed him in a suitcase, and thrown him in the river.

I pushed past them an ran into my room. Slowly, I my mind began to clear. Just a dream. Just a—

"Havin' fun?"

I yelped. Turning on my heel, I punched whoever was begin me in the jaw.

Cody toppled to the floor.

I gasped, "Omigod, Cody! I'm so sorry…"

He winced and cupped his jaw with his hand.

"S'okay," he mumbled.

"Wh—what are you doing here?" I asked, still a little shaken up.

"Besides throbbing? I just wanted to talk. About…what's his name. Jason? Martin?"

"Mason."

"Whatever," he said. "I don't think he's right for you."

"'Not right for me'? We're just friends. We both like rock music and basketball, he's funny, he's nice, what's wrong with him? And why do you care?"

"I don't care, it's just—"

"Oh, you _don't_ care. Then why don't you leave me alone? I haven't said anything about Lottie LaSlut, so I expect the same from you."

"Kes—" he said pleadingly.

"Go away, Cody. We're done here."


End file.
